


How Do I Do This Properly?

by Tanist



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Food. Feast. Thank-gift.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-09-27 17:57:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17166611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tanist/pseuds/Tanist
Summary: Lalli seeks to show gratitude to his friend for actions that may have saved his life. He needs to work out how to do this while observing the courtesies of a very different culture.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The lovely folk of the SSSS Fan Forum.](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=The+lovely+folk+of+the+SSSS+Fan+Forum.).



> Written for the 2018 Forum Advent Calendar.

FORUM ADVENT CALENDAR ENTRY FOR 2018:

I thought that after the amount of grimdark we have lived through this year, both in reality and in the comic, we could all do with a bit of cheerful fluff. So here it is. The fifth of December (in some parts of Europe the 6th) belongs to Saint Nicholas, and is a traditional day for the giving of gifts. And Lalli has a question for Onni about mage courtesies and usages…..

 

HOW DO I DO THIS PROPERLY?

When he found Lalli again, Onni had expected that his young cousin and student would have many questions for him. But from previous experience he had expected those questions to be about practical things: how Lalli could better construct his runos to make his spells more efficient, how to deflect or fight off hostile ghosts, what he needed to do to earn the support of the local landspirits, whether it was possible to make his magic work with Reynir’s……. literally the last thing he had expected was a query about manners.

But that was what he got. 

“Emil did a thing for me. A brave thing, even if he didn’t know what it meant. I need to pay him back.” 

“What could Emil possibly have done for you that involved magic, and was more than the duty that one team mate owes to another? I don’t understand?”

“Emil is my friend as well as my team mate. And when I killed the giant, and had to strike so hard that my itse was thrown both from my haven and from my flesh, he let me into his haven. I fell and fell. I thought I would probably die. But I fell into water, and I saw a light. I swam toward the light, and it was shining from a doorway. I was desperate enough by then that I just climbed into the door. 

Yes, Onni, I know such an intrusion into a place I did not know was beyond rude, as well as likely dangerous, but it just…..felt right? Like a place I knew, and one I knew would welcome me, even though I did not recognise the shape it had then. It looked like a Swedish house, like the one we visited in Mora but not the same one. Emil said it wore the shape of the home he had when he was young. And a guardian spirit was there, his nanny from when he was a child. 

He took me in, and warmed me, and gave me a place to rest until I was strong enough to try to find my way to my own place, with your help. And he comforted me, and fed me cake. Now you know that when somebody in the Dreamworld gives you warmth and food, what they are giving you is a tiny piece of their own energy, their own life, and that must be repaid. I wish to give Emil back that fragment of his life and strength he gifted me. But the spirits of his people are not like ours, no more than is their magic. So tell me, what is the form that such a return should take?”

“Well, if we were back at home, the usage would be to guest the person in your home, make them a feast, and promise them that you will support and help them should that ever be needed. I do not think that that is practical here, but perhaps the nearest thing you can do would be to make that promise to him, and then make him a feast at one of the food-places here. Perhaps Reynir, Mikkel or Sigrun might suggest a suitable one?”

****************************************************

“Sigrun? Captain? I have a question.”

“Yes, Lalli? What is it? Also, I understood you! Your Swedish is becoming better. The time you spent learning in quarantine has been useful, however hard it was for you.”

“Sigrun, what I wish to do is….feed Emil? In a food shop? Can you tell how I do this, please?”

“Well, you have money now to pay at a restaurant, so you go there with him, ask them to seat you at a table, and order the food you want. What sort of meal were you planning?”

Lalli shrugged helplessly. “I…… do not know? Good food that will give him strength, with cake after. Fancy. And good tasting. How do his people make a feast? I do not know. But he helped me in ways that could have put him in danger, and I wish to make him a thank-gift.”

“Ah, I see! Let’s ask Mikkel and Reynir - they may know what people eat here. And Emil’s aunt…..perhaps she will know what Swedish people would have for a feast.”

**************************************************************

Siv had wondered about the strange scruffy little Finnish forest barbarian that her nephew insisted on calling his friend. So when Sigrun, Onni and Mikkel approached her with a request from the Finnish scout for advice about arranging a feast for Emil as a thank-you for some help Emil had given him during the expedition, help which apparently went far beyond that required by his duties, and which may have in some way endangered Emil, she was willing to assist with his arrangements. At least the boy was grateful, she thought, which was a good trait in a friend. And she was impressed that he wished to feed Emil things that were good for him as well as tasty, though Siv was amused that he did insist on a luxurious cake for dessert. 

So, following the advice of Reynir’s parents and brother, Lalli, Sigrun, Mikkel and Onni made their way to an old stone building near the fish market, which had been pointed out to them as both one of the best, if one of the most expensive restaurants in Reykjavik, and as somewhere that had a chef who might be willing to accomodate Lalli’s odd request for food that was healthy and strengthening as well as delicious. They settled on a menu of lobster soup with seaweed, a small whole baked salmon, roast lamb with herbs and vegetables and a truly decadent dessert cake slathered with preserved cherries, strawberries and cream, accompanied by cider, and a glass of mead with the cake. Siv was envious of the feast about to be set before her nephew.

That afternoon the whole group went to sauna. When they emerged, feeling much cleaner and ready for the evening’s festivities, and with some four hours to fill before the evening coach departed, Sigrun led them to the chosen restaurant. Emil was puzzled when a well-dressed waiter led him aside from the main party to a small private dining room, while everyone else but Lalli went ahead to dine in the main area of the restaurant. 

“What’s going on?” Emil asked. “Special feast for you” Lalli replied. “Thank-gift. When I came to your dream you let me in, fed me and warmed me. Maybe kept me from dying. Grateful.” He took Emil’s hands in both of his. “Tell you now: if you need ever to come to my dream place, I promise that I will let you in, feed you and keep you safe. Emil. Friend.”


	2. The Recipes For Emil's Feast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Food, glorious food!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Several folk asked me for recipes for the food described. Here you go.

THE RECIPES FOR EMIL’S FEAST

LOBSTER AND SEAWEED SOUP

Many recipes for lobster soup produce a bisque, a creamy soup. Those generally contain flour, butter, rice, cream or milk instead of only butter as this one does. This one makes a clearer soup.

 

Ingredients: 

2 litres water (some recipes use dilute seawater. I prefer rainwater, since I think there is enough salt in the lobster and seaweed). This water will be used to make the stock, either by cooking the lobster in it first, then adding and simmering the stock vegetables until they are soft, or by simmering the shells, claws and scraps of lobster meat along with the stock vegetables to make the base for the stock. OR you can use two litres of chicken stock in which to cook the lobster and simmer the vegetables and shells. OR you can do the same with fish stock. Whatever you have or whatever you prefer. 

1 large or two small lobsters (smaller lobsters are generally sweeter)

2 cups of finely cut stock vegetables ( carrots, celery, leek or onion, parsnips, alexanders root and stems - whatever you enjoy)

Half a cup of butter

Optional, but I like this: a cup of finely julienned vegetables: carrot, burdock root, celery, white beet, leek, young turnip, whatever you enjoy, to be added to the soup with the lobster meat, after the shells and stock vegetables have been removed.

A loosely filled cup of dried seaweed, less if you don’t like a strong seaweed flavour. You can use dulse, kelp, ulva (sea lettuce), laver, nori, or just about any edible seaweed, or a mix of several different ones. Only use carrageen if you are making a bisque style soup - it is delicious, but thickens and colours the broth more than other seaweeds. I like it better in cream soups or desserts.

Fresh herbs to taste (I use about a cupful, but I like my soup herby). Mostly parsley, but you can add dill, tarragon, marjoram, sorrel, even a little sage, lavender or rosemary. Herbs should be shredded just before adding to the soup when it is nearly ready. A few chopped spring onions, garlic greens, chives or suchlike for garnish. 

A light grinding of black pepper to serve. Of course, in Minnaverse Iceland, pepper might not be easy to come by, even though it is easily cultivated in greenhouses or as a houseplant, but a readily available substitute in Northern Europe is the seeds of Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum), an umbelliferous herb and vegetable which has flavours of celery and pepper. 

Method: 

.Heat the stock or water to a rolling boil. Add the lobster (if you are cooking it from alive/raw). Once the lobster is cooked (usually five to ten minutes depending on size - the shell will turn red and the lobster meat will be firm and white all through), remove it from the water with tongs and put aside until cool enough to handle. Keep the stock warm on a very low heat while you dismember the lobster.

.As the meat is separated from the shell and the claws cracked and meat removed, add the empty claws and bits of shell to the stock, along with the vegetables. Bring back to the boil and simmer, covered, for half an hour (longer on a lower heat gives a better flavour to my taste, but cooks differ). 

.Strain the broth from the vegetables and shells. At this point the French style is to puree the shells and vegetables to a paste, push this through a sieve to remove any scraps of solid shell, and slowly blend the puree back into the broth, but if you want a light soup rather than a bisque, just strain the broth off, reserve it for the soup, and the scraps can be used later to make another lot of stock. 

.While the broth simmers, tear the lobster meat into small pieces. 

.Heat the butter in a pan until it is frothy and beginning to brown. Add the julienned vegetables if you are using those, stir until the vegetables are coated with butter and beginning to colour slightly, then add the pieces of lobster meat and toss lobster and vegetables in the hot butter for a few minutes. Both should be coloured but not heavily browned. .

Add these to the broth. Simmer until the meat is heated through and the vegetables cooked al dente, which usually only takes a few minutes. Add the fresh herbs at this point and turn off the heat.

.Lightly toast the seaweed, either in a dry frying pan on the stovetop or on a baking tray for a few minutes in a hot oven, until it is crisp and brittle but not burned.

. Serve in heated bowls, garnished with spring onions and toasted seaweed. Top with ground pepper or ground seeds of alexanders.

Serves 2 or 3 as a main meal, 6 as a starter.

 

WHOLE BAKED SALMON

Choose a small fresh whole salmon, or one fillet for each person dining. Fresh fish has a clean sea smell, smooth bright scales, firm flesh and the eyes are not sunken or dull. Clean and gut the fish. Wipe out the body cavity. If using a whole fish, stuff the cavity with finely sliced apple and celery or fennel root and about half the quantity of ground hazelnuts as you have used apple/fennel/celery. Add sage or tarragon to taste, and a sprinkle of seaweed if you like, and moisten the stuffing with lemon juice. If using fillets, lay them on a bed of the stuffing. Dab with butter. Cook in a hot oven (360F/185C) for about 20 minutes per pound of fish, or until the fish flakes easily when you twist a fork in it. Serve with a slice of lemon.

 

ROAST LAMB WITH VEGETABLES

Choose a suitable lamb cut for roasting (leg or shoulder are the usual cuts). Meat should be firm and pink with a layer of fat. Preheat the oven to 360F/185C. Use a small sharp knife to make cuts between the fat layer or skin and the meat. Insert flavouring herbs such as small sprigs of rosemary, slivers of angelica root (they are in Iceland, after all), sage leaves, cloves of garlic or the herbs you like best. Place the roast on a baking tray, place around it suitable vegetables for roasting, cut into pieces of about the same size (potatoes, parsnips, carrots, skirret, salsify, beets, turnips, sweet potato or whatever you like), dab with a little butter and season with salt and a few more sprigs of rosemary. Roast for about 20 minutes per pound of meat, turning the vegetables halfway through the process. When the meat is cooked (juice is clear when pierced with a skewer, meat is still tender) remove the meat to a serving platter, raise the heat slightly and return the vegetables to the oven for ten minutes to crisp up. Let the meat rest for ten minutes before carving to allow the fibres to loosen, and serve in thin slices carved across the grain. You can serve with gravy, mint sauce, finely chopped fresh herbs or whatever you like, but it is fine without further seasoning. If you prefer your meat rare, take it out of the oven sooner. 

The roast can be accompanied by green vegetables such as green beans, baby peas, asparagus, broccoli florets, cabbage or whatever you please.

 

DECADENT BUT HEALTHY CAKE

Make a shortcake base. This one is quick and easy, but if you have a favourite shortcake recipe of your own, use that instead. The trick with shortcake is to mix it only until any pockets of flour in the mix are incorporated into a smooth batter. If you over-mix shortcake it cooks to a tough hard texture rather than light and fluffy, and you want light and fluffy to complement the fruit and cream. 

Ingredients:

.Half a cup of softened butter  
.1 cup of fine, caster or granulated sugar (yes, you can use beet sugar if you make it fine, which you can do by whizzing it in a blender if you have modern tech, or running it through a fine sieve if you don’t. Just press the granulated sugar through the fine sieve with the back of a metal spoon. Fiddly, but it works. But in our modern non-Minnaverse world we can just use the granulated or caster sugar made from sugar cane).   
.Half a cup of buttermilk  
.2 eggs  
.One and a half cups of all purpose flour (I use one cup of flour and half a cup of almond or hazelnut meal, but I like nutmeal in my shortcake)  
.Half a teaspoonful of salt  
.Two teaspoonsful of baking powder  
.In our world, one teaspoonful of vanilla essence (post-apoc Iceland may or may not have vanilla essence. The plant would happily grow in a greenhouse, but pollinating the flowers by hand and processing the fruits may not be within their skill set). In the absence of vanilla, i would use an extract or tincture of elderflowers, sweetgrass, or best of all sweet woodruff, waldmeister or vanilla bedstraw (Galium odoratum), which grows commonly in Fennoscandia.

Method:

.Preheat the oven to 425F/220C  
.Lightly grease an 8x8 caketin or 10 cups on a muffin tray  
.Cream butter and sugar with a spoon, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy  
.Fold in the buttermilk, lightly beaten eggs and vanilla or equivalent until evenly mixed  
.Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into the bowl over the dry ingredients, and mix until no dry pockets remain  
.Bake for around 20 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed and a toothpick or skewer inserted comes out clean.  
.Allow the cake to cool, and serve with whipped cream and fruit. Fruit can be either sliced fresh or marinated in lemon or orange juice, wine or brandy. All berry fruit is good (strawberries are traditional), one can also use peaches, apricots or whatever you find pleasing.   
.Cream whips much better when it is cold, and holds peaks better when whipped in a cold bowl. You can sweeten the cream with a touch of sugar, maple syrup, honey or a few drops of a fruit liqueur


End file.
